Lowell



(No Model.) 2 Sheets-Sheet 1.

LOWELL.

, FRUIT EVAPQRATOR. No. 284,450. PatentedISept. 4, 1883. I S I N :jlw 11Q WITNESSES L INVENTOR n iuyw ddk BY ATTORNEYS.

2 Sheets-Sheet 2.

(No Model.) S. W. LQWELL.

FRUIT EVAPORATOB. N0. 284,450. Patented Sept. 4, 1883.

W" \lll WITNESSES: W L .JINYENTOR;

Hm BY v ATTORNEYS.-

1 UN TED STATES PATENT QFFI E. V

- SETH w. LOWELL, or FILLMORE, NEW YORK.

FRUIT- EVAPO RATO R. a

SPECIFICATION forming partof Letters Patent No. 284,450, dated September4, 1883.

I Application filed May 11,1883. (No model.)

To coZZ whom it may concern Be it known that I, SETH W. LownLL,ofFillmore, in the county of Allegany and State of a New York, haveinvented a new and Improved Fruit-Evaporator, of which the following isa full, clear, and exact description.

The object of the invention is; to improve fruit-evaporators, ashereinafter described, and pointed out in the claim.

Reference is to be had to the accompanying drawings, forming part ofthis specification, in

which similar letters of reference indicate corresponding parts in allthe figures.

Figure 1 is a sectional elevation of my improved drier, taken on theline as w of Fig. 2. Fig. 2 is a sectional elevation on line y-g of Fig.1 Fig. 3 is a plan view of one of the crates for holding the fruit, andFig. 4 is a perspective view of one of the pans to be placed on "thecrates to hold the fruit.

The drying chamber or space a, in which the fruit isto be dried, isinclosed by any approved kiln, b, of brick or other approved material,and is located above an air-heating space, 'd, in which the air is to beheated, preferably by a steam-coil, e, and wherein I propose to arrangeone or more rotary fans, f, for

effecting rapid circulation of the air by forcing it up, say, intheaniddle portion and down along the sides of the chamber.

The fan shafts or axles will extend at one end through the wall of thekiln, to be turned by power applied with a belt 011 pulleys g, fitted tothem. Above the heating-chamber, is a rail-track, h, extending acrossthe dryingspace and out through the kiln, which has a door, 1', to openand close the way, the said track extending along a platform, j,sufficiently to connect with two side tracks, k and Z, said side tracksbeing arranged in. a sufficiently higher plane than track h to enabletrucks k and Z, located on them, to roll on and off the truck m arrangedon track 71, and havingcross-rails n, which may connect with eitherof'the tracks 70 or Z at will. Each of the trucks k Z carries a largecrate or frame, 0, in which the fruit-pans p are to be compactly arranged onsupports, on which they slide in and out, as is customary withsuch devices for spreading the fruit in thin layers, around and throughwhich the hot air may circulate, thepans-being made with wire-gauzebottoms.

in time for taking the place of the next one to be removed from thekiln, which may be readily done by stopping truck or in frontof sidetrack is and running truck 70 thereon, then shifting truck m along totrack Z, running truck Z onto it, and returning it to the kiln.discharging of the dried fruit from the crate on track 70 and refillingwith green fruit may The l then be proceeded with while the fruit in thekiln is drying, and so on, thus losing but lit tle time and heat in thekiln as compared with a single track and crate arrangement, in which thekiln remains empty while the crate is be ing emptied and refilled.

The hot air, passing up through the fruit and taking up the moisturetherefrom, becomes heavily charged with the moisture and requires to berelieved of it in order to have the best effects in drying the fruit. Itherefore propose to arrange one or more deep and inclosed watenpans, q,in the upper part of the kiln, through which a circulation is to bemaintained by a flowing stream entering ats and escaping at s, or in anyapproved way, on which the air is to be cooled, both for condensing thevapor in it and for causing the air to descend m ore rapidly into theheating-chamber again, and below the condensing-pans I arrange a trough,t, for each one to catch the drip from them and discharge it out throughthe walls of the kiln, thus facilitating the circulation and preparingthe air for more rapidly absorbing the moisture.

The door Z is to open a space in the wall large enough to pass thecrates through, and will by preference be hung at the upper end,

to swing from the, track upward, as indicated by the dotted lines inFig. 1, and it will be counterbalanced by a weighted cord, to, passingover pulleys o and 'w on the arm :0, pro:

jecting from the side of the kiln, and supported by a stay, or in anyapproved way.

I desire it to beunderstood that it is only with kilns in which theairis to be used over asmao i and over to economize the heat that Ipropose l heater at the bottom, a fan-blower in the upto employ thecondensing apparatus, for such per part thereof, one or more tracksabove the g 5 apparatus is not required in such kilns as are fan-blower,and a condenser at the top, whereprovided with ventilators, throughwhich the by the fruit-trucks may be conveniently en- 5 air escapes atthe top, as the air in that case tered, supported, and removed fromaplatform carries the moisture with it; but for using the above theheater, the hot air caused to circuair over for saving the heat socarried away late up through the fruit and pass down at the 20 thecondenser performs two important funcsides, and the aqueous vaporcondensed and tions-first, in promoting the circulation, and, dischargedat the top, as described.

10 second, reservingthe moisture, asabovestated. SETH W.. LOWELL.

Having thus described my invention, I claim WVitnesses V as new anddesireto secure by Letters Patent J. P. MANCHESTER,

In a fruit-evaporator, the combination of a A. H. OOY.

